Whether called electronic medical records (EMR) or electronic health records (EHR), the basic idea is the same: Patient records are stored, maintained, and updated electronically. The underlying analytics and informatics components are nearly universal, but the input and output can be drastically different from one system to another, creating either challenges or opportunities.

While obviously providing exceptional patient care is an important goal for your practice, you are also trying to run a successful business. To accomplish this, your practice needs to be able to do what all successful businesses do—MAKE MONEY. These days, the ability to efficiently bring in revenue means having a digital payments solution. Unfortunately, when it comes to certain payment processing solutions, many practices are not getting much when you consider what they are paying.

Fraud is one of those topics that no one really enjoys talking about. It can be uncomfortable to think that someone in your practice, even someone you are close to and believe you have a strong relationship with, would steal from you. But it happens. And you need to be aware of it because fraud and theft are far more common in healthcare practices than you might expect.

Slow lead response times could be resulting in lost patients, and as a result, lost opportunities for future revenue. In fact, one study found that the odds of even being able to contact a potential lead decrease by over ten times in the first hour. In this blog, we will take a look at the importance of prompt lead response times and illustrate how failure to maintain them could be costing your practice new patients (and the future sales revenue that comes with them).

It is safe to say that 2020 was a difficult year for a lot of people, financially and otherwise. When it comes to increased financial responsibility for healthcare, it was an especially difficult year for most patients. According to new research, the average consumer spent considerably more money on healthcare than they did only a few short years ago. This trend of increased financial burden on patients is likely going to continue in 2021 and will be further exacerbated by higher healthcare prices.

As we covered in a previous blog, patient demand for better online and digital payment options has long been on the rise. In a world where everyone is connected online, physical “check in the mail” payments are quickly becoming an antiquated practice. Online payments are no longer seen as an alternative means of payment but have become very much the standard for today’s consumers.

Healthcare has seen several drastic changes over the past few years. A need for more contactless office procedures. A sharp rise in the use of telemedicine. A surge in digital payments. A crackdown on Information Blocking violations. One change that has not received nearly as much attention is increased financial responsibility for patients. And this economic trend highlights the benefits of patient portals for specialty healthcare practices.

During the first quarter of the year, many practices struggle with cash flow stagnation caused when deductibles reset and thus the whole burden of payment falls on patients. There is also a current trend of increasing health insurance costs such as higher deductibles, premiums and copays that will shift even more financial burden to patients and is likely to further exacerbate this issue for practices in 2021. This means it is more important than ever for practices to effectively manage their cash flow to ensure they are able to weather any unexpected financial issues that might occur throughout this year.